Travel Advisor Greece: 10 εξαίρετα νέα κτήρια στην Κίνα

With the Olympics just less than one year to go, China is on a building-spree in Beijing and Shanghai. They have invited a number of leading overseas architects to do the designs - with some controversial, but impressive results.

1. Beijing National Stadium The Beijing National Stadium is the home for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games athletics and opening and closing ceremonies. It has been dubbed the ‘Bird’s Nest’ by local residents.

2. National Swimming Center The National Swimming Center was built along environmentally friendly lines inline with the goals of the Beijing Olympics. The exterior is made from teflon, with solar energy being used to heat the pools. Pool water which is normally dumped as waste, will be re-used. Rainwater will be stored in tanks to fill the pools.

3. Beijing International Airport The new terminal of the Beijing International Airport will make it one of the biggest in the world covering over 1 million square meters. In terms of passenger numbers, it will soon be in the top ten airports of the world, handling 43 million passengers a year initially and 55 million by 2015.

4. National Grand Theater The new National Grand Theater built not far from Beijing’s historic Forbidden City, had been likened to a huge shimmering UFO. It is a 490,485 square-foot glass and titanium building that was built to be kept lower than the nearby National People’s Congress. It was designed by French architect Paul Andreu, known for Paris’s Terminal 2E building which collapsed and killed four people.

5. CCTV building Beijing The CCTV building with two towers leaning inwards has redefined thinking as to how skyscrapers can be built.

6. The Commune Building Beijing The Commune is built alongside the Great Wall of China. It comprises of 12 buildings designed by Asia’s leading architects with a budget of $1 million for each house. It is currently being run as a hotel.

7. Shanghai World Financial Center Located on former marshland, in the futuristic Pudong, Shanghai, the new skyscraper will become the world’s tallest building with 101 floors.

8. Linked Hybrid, Beijing The Linked Hybrid building will house 2,500 Beijing residents in a mammoth 700 apartments. It will have the world’s largest geothermal heating and cooling systems, with water being pumped up from 100 meters below the earth.

9. Dongtan Eco City , Dongtan The complex will house 50,000 people and will be targeted for completion by the 2010 Shanghai Expo. It will be built along eco-friendly lines in terms of water usage, waste and renewable energy.

10. Donghai Bridge, Shanghai/Yangshan Island One of the world’s longest bridges crossing the sea, the Donghai Bridge connects Shanghai to Yangshan Island. It was built to the tune of $1.2 billion.

(πηγή: 2008gamesbeijing.com)